Thursday, March 27, 2014

In US the rate of incarceration is very high as compared to other Nations. Logically, one’s punishment is proportion to the crime and an accused is likely to be sent to prison for a term as merited by his misdeed.

Or so, one thought, but curiously in USA, it is stated that in a much publicized case, that the offender might be in jail for a much shorter duration – and the reason ? – no nothing to do with himself or with the judgment or anything else…it is because of the crimes committed by others. It is stated that the % of offenders who are to be jailed is so high, that there is serious thinking of keeping lesser criminals for shorter durations !

Strange are the ways of people; strange and mysterious is everything associated with the pop star – Michael Jackson. Perhaps very little of what was made public is correct or true as far as Jackson is concerned !Michael Joseph Jacksonor MJ was considered as King of Pop, most successful entertainer of all times – a cult figure in the World of Music, dance and entertainment. From his birth in 1958 as the 7th child of Jackson family till his death on 25th June 2009, lot was shrouded with mystery. When he died, his doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The much followed high profile case of ‘People of the State of California v. Conrad Robert Murray’ is the trial of of Michael Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray who was charged with involuntary manslaughter of the pop singer. After a total deliberation time of eight hours and fifteen minutes, on Nov 7, 2011, a guilty verdict was announced stating Dr. Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter. A charge on which he might receive maximum of 4 year jail sentence for killing the singer with a fatal dose of proipofol.

But reports suggest that the Doctor could walk free within months even if he receives the maximum four-year jail sentence. According to sources, the disgraced doctor, who could even serve his time under house arrest wearing an electronic tag. It could be recalled that in June 2009, Jackson died while in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by Conrad Murray, his personal physician, were unsuccessful. Legal analysts said the three-year prison sentence seen as the most likely punishment for Murray might amount to less than six months behind bars. A sentence on house arrest or other possible alternatives to prison are also not ruled out.

It is not due to the capacity of the offender nor the extent of the crime but due to the new guidelines on overcrowding ! - it is suggested that under the new guidelines, non-violent criminals must be sent to local jails rather than tough state prisons. The new state prison alignment law allows early release for people convicted of non-violent felonies.

The finding of the Los Angeles Jury that Conrad Murray was guilty of killing MJ was received with euphoria. The Doctor has been found guilty and has lost the right ever to practise medicine again.Possibly most damning for Murray was the fact that he failed to call 911 for 20 minutes, or possibly longer, after Jackson stopped breathing. But after the verdict, the Doctor has received solace from the new California law designed to alleviate overcrowding in State’s prisons. The new law sends low-risk inmates to county jails, and officials running Los Angeles county jails have been releasing prisoners early due to a lack of space.

Over there, there has been much debate over the privatization of prisons. Both publicly provided and publicly financed prisons operate under the supervision of the Department of Corrections that exists at the state and federal level. The concern is that the bureau will not operate at the efficient budget, or where the public’s marginal demand for prison services meets the least marginal cost of operations.

So, the Court has convicted Conrad Murray but he would still remain free and spend his time away from the prison cell. Strange are the ways of life where the crimes of other offenders determine the punishment of another offender. !!